Battle set to resume on who pays what for city transit
(Hamilton Spectator, Matthew Van Dongen, Feb 28 2018)
A report on the tax implications of ending area-rated transit on Thursday is set to rev up the battle over who pays what — or at all — for bus service in Hamilton.
But don't bet on the matter being settled any time soon.
Since amalgamation, transit taxes have been "area rated" — meaning different parts of the city pay different rates of tax based on former town borders and bus frequency. (Rural residents pay nothing.)
Right now, an "old city" homeowner pays three times as much in transit taxes than a resident with the same home value in urban Ancaster or Stoney Creek, for example. The differing rate is meant to account for sometimes radically different levels of service.
But transit advocates argue the city can't expand or improve bus service with artificial transit tax borders in the way.
A divided council put off a debate on the contentious issue last term. But on Thursday, councillors will receive a report on the implications of ending area-rated transit: either using a unified tax rate for the entire city, or an urban-rural model.
In theory, raising the suburban transit tax rate to match the old city could raise an extra $11 million to put toward the bus budget.
But the new report suggests some suburban areas would see a hefty property tax hike as a result, ranging from $101 in parts of Stoney Creek to $248 in parts of Ancaster.
Read it in full
here.
Councillors can vote to pay for service or choose the status quo in the name of blunting tax impacts savings, but if this operational funding inequity remains in place, the HSR should hold to the Ten Year Local Transit Strategy's recommendations:
• Ridership levels dictate service
• Maximum service standards based on seated capacity. Routes exceeding the maximum are flagged for added capacity
• Minimum service thresholds based on boardings per service hour. Routes not meeting the minimum threshold are flagged for potential service reductions